Canandaigua city committee votes for gas-drilling ban

CANANDAIGUA — With a moratorium on hydrofracking set to expire in June, the city will move forward with plans to ban all forms of natural gas extraction, including hydrofracking, within city limits.

The city’s ordinance committee Tuesday voted unanimously, 4-0, to adopt an ordinance that amends the city’s code dedicated to preservation of natural resources. Once approved by City Council, the code will ban all methods of natural gas drilling, as well as any exploration, transfer, storage, treatment or disposal of natural gas within city limits.

City attorney Michele Smith said this ordinance is based off a city of Syracuse ordinance that was approved in October 2011. She chose to model the ordinance after another urban municipality, she said, but this ordinance is similar to those recently adopted by neighboring municipalities — namely the town of Canandaigua — and is meant to protect the welfare of city residents.

The drilling ban includes high-volume hydraulic fracturing — the controversial extraction method better known as hydrofracking or fracking. Those in favor of fracking cite economic benefits, while those in opposition have concerns about environmental impacts, including pollution to drinking water.

The adopted ordinance states that the city has determined that the extraction and exploration of natural gas “poses a significant threat to its residents’ health, safety and welfare.” It also states that such activities would deposit toxins into the air, soil and water, which would eventually make its way into the bodies of city residents.

“We’ve spent a lot of time, both in this committee and in the environmental committee, hearing both sides to be fair,” City Councilman David Whitcomb said Tuesday. “We heard from pro-fracking, we heard from anti-fracking, we heard from other communities. We’ve spent a lot of time on this issue — 1.5 years we’ve been studying this.”

The city first adopted a moratorium on fracking in July 2012, citing a need for council to examine the issue.

The city joins the town of Canandaigua and the city of Geneva — the only other two municipalities in Ontario County to ban fracking, according to fractracker.org, an organization that compiles information from municipalities about hydrofracking policies.

Surrounding towns Bristol, Gorham, Hopewell and Manchester all have moratoriums in place, but not outright bans. Ontario County banned fracking on county-owned lands back in 2010, and New York state placed a moratorium on fracking last spring.

In February the Canandaigua Town Board unanimously voted to ban all oil and gas drilling and related activities, with the main purpose being to protect the quality of Canandaigua Lake.

“The Finger Lakes region is very unique in this country,” Town Board member Terrence Fennelly said Feb. 10. “There's nothing else like this area. So, my view is, why take the chance?”

Now that the ordinance committee has accepted the resolution, the issue is now in the hands of the full City Council. The ordinance will also be reviewed by the Ontario County Planning Board, then a public hearing will take place before the city vote.

The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 13 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.